Today we’d like to introduce you to Abeje TheAtre.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Abeje. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
What is love? It’s a question I believe we start asking from the moment we come out of the womb. We are all searching for it: through God, our parents, friends, significant others… while every form of love is beautiful, I believe that the love two people share in a marriage is one of the best there is. I have been blessed to have the chance to revel in this kind of love with my husband of almost three years. And because of this love that we have, I have been inspired to share this story in the form of music.
We all know the story of musicians and how they started singing ‘before they could walk’ or ‘ever since they could talk’. Well, essentially mine is no different than that. Growing up with my mother working from home as a cosmetologist, I had an array of performances to share with all her clients. Music and theatre have always been Who I Am.
As we went through life, I watched my mother in her first marriage, which was abusive and had an enormous effect on me. But by the time her second marriage came around, I would’ve said it was perfection. I finally got to grow up in a household with two people in love. I didn’t realize it then but watching their love story was gearing me up for where I am today. Of course, like any other girl in her teens, I went through my “heartbreaks” and shenanigans with boys. But when I went off to college I did not expect what was coming next.
I met my husband.
Immediately after meeting him, out of nowhere words started pouring out my spirit. I began writing poetry fully inspired by him and our affinity. Eventually, I published. a book of poems, “In.To.Me.See.” But the writing didn’t stop.
Skipping ahead! In 2016 we got married. In 2017, my husband bought me my dream instrument… a GUITAR! And that is when everything really changed and started coming together. See, I had been in college for about three and a half years, not knowing what to do. I was a Music Education major, an English Education Major, and a Liberal Arts Major. I had no idea what to do because I could literally do so many things in the art field. But no matter what, I always focused on music. I participated in every musical and music-type thing I could.
My husband and I decided that we needed to leave Murray, KY if we wanted to pursue any career in the entertainment industry. So, after doing research, we decided to pick up our bags and move to Atlanta, GA. We didn’t really have connects here. So, we were coming to the land of the unknown. And it has been an uphill battle. At first, things were so difficult financially that all we ever did was work.
I kept writing; I mean, the words just came! I could have a song written in a matter of 20 minutes to maybe an hour. Even though we were struggling, I would say sometime in 2018-my purpose became clear to me. I am the ‘voice of love.’ If you could sneak a peek inside my songbooks, you will see nothing but love songs. But this is so near and dear to me. I am not saying the world lacks love; there is plenty of it. But I do believe that the world needs to hear a consistent (consistency in one individual) message of love in marriage.
Music is such a powerful, life-changing tool. I want the world to know how much I love my husband. I want marriages to be ‘healed’ when listening to my music. I want young girls to know what love looks like and sounds like when they listen to my music.
With only 3 songs released in a 1.5-year time frame, I finally decided to start working on my first album. I literally had a book of about 30 songs written at the time. All I needed to do was a record! My husband (a music producer) and I started working on my album, SIMPLY LOVE. We co-produced a lot of it. It feels amazing knowing that we not only love each other but that we are also able to share our love for music. I made the announcement on March 30th and from there never looked back.
If I want people to know who Abeje TheAtre is, I’ve gotta give them something to hear. If I want people to know what love is, I’ve got to tell them! June 7th was the release date of my very first love album, SIMPLY LOVE. Since it has been out, I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from many people. And I’ve even made money from it.
Now that my album is out, I plan to attend as many open mic events as I can to get my message of everlasting love out there. Abeje TheAtre is ready to take the music world by storm. And of course, I’ve still got plenty of other songs waiting to be recorded soon.
I am eternally grateful to God for blessing me with the gift of singing and songwriting. And I truly thank Him for giving me my inspiration: my husband…my love. I’m not saying that I will never sing about other things. But this message is so important. The world can never have too much love. And like I said, I’ve been gearing up for this since before I even knew it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
-We didn’t know anybody in Atlanta, GA. When we first got here in 2017, after two weeks of being in an extended stay we had to get out because we had no more money. This happened on our 1st anniversary. We didn’t know where we were going to lay our heads that night. But eventually, we were able to find a relative to help us.
-In 2018, around September-October, my husband got into a car accident. We didn’t have our car (both our source of income at the time) and almost got evicted from our apartments when we couldn’t pay rent.
-We are not financially able to pay all of our bills. So, our credit looks pretty bad right now due to closed accounts being on there.
-I went to Florida to be part of the AMTC program in 2017 and we didn’t really didn’t have money and I almost got stuck in Florida.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My legal name is Kamaria Simmons. But I go by Abeje TheAtre (my stage name). I am a singer/songwriter. The message that I choose to focus on is LOVE. Specifically, love in marriage. What sets me apart from other artists/musicians is that I do not like to make cookie-cutter music. I put so much thought into every little detail: from the words to the harmonies to the music.
Starting with the words, I always want my music to have substance (mine is love). Whether I sing in metaphors or directly about love, I want the creativity of my lyrics to really seep into people’s minds. When it comes to harmonies and music, I like to have my own sound. Of course, I’ve got inspiration from other famous artists. But I’d like to believe (especially since many people have said so) that I have my own personal sound when people listen to my music.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Humility. There are so many talented people in the world. While I do believe I have my own uniqueness, I will never allow my confidence to become arrogance and think myself better than anyone.
Sincerity. I am not playing games with my message. I mean it when I say I want to focus on delivering the news of love in my music. It is unchanging.
Openness. In the field of music, it is important to be open to many ideas. I do not allow myself to be cut off to other things. I am inspired by so many different kinds of music and so many artists and languages. There is no limit to musical greatness when you are open to all possibilities that it has to offer around the entire world.
Consistency. Ever since I have been making it a priority to be serious about my music, I have been seeing the fruits of my labor.
Pricing:
- SIMPLY LOVE Album (iTunes/Google Play/Amazon): $10.00
- Perform Original Song at events: $60
- Feature on Song (verse): $45
- Feature on Song (chorus): $50
Contact Info:
- Email: kamariasimmons@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abeje_simmons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abejetheatre
Image Credit:
Dean Charles Anthony II
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